August 18, 2025 News Update: CMS Final Rules, the 12-Year BCBS Lawsuit & our Rural Health Strong Campaign

Rural Health News is a weekly segment of Rural Health Today, a podcast by Hillsdale Hospital.

News sources for this episode:

Tonya Garcia, Bloomberg, “Cardinal Health to acquire Solaris Health in $1.9B deal,” August 12, 2025, modernhealthcare.com/mergers-acquisitions/mh-cardinal-health-solaris-health-deal/," target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.modernhealthcare.com/mergers-acquisitions/mh-cardinal-health-solaris-health-deal/, Modern Healthcare.

Erich Timmerman, “Cardinal Health announces two strategic additions to its portfolio,” November 11, 2024, cardinalhealth.com/2024-11-11-Cardinal-Health-announces-two-strategic-additions-to-its-portfolio," target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://newsroom.cardinalhealth.com/2024-11-11-Cardinal-Health-announces-two-strategic-additions-to-its-portfolio, CardinalHealth.

National Rural Health Association, “Fiscal Year 2026 Inpatient Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule,” April 14, 2025, ruralhealth.us/getmedia/cca11c3e-49da-4cf8-8a63-ec270bc96fb0/FY-2026-IPPS-proposed-rule-summary-4-14-2025.pdf." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.ruralhealth.us/getmedia/cca11c3e-49da-4cf8-8a63-ec270bc96fb0/FY-2026-IPPS-proposed-rule-summary-4-14-2025.pdf.

CMS.gov, “FY 2026 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System (LTCH PPS) Final Rule — CMS-1833-F,” July 31, 2025, cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/fy-2026-hospital-inpatient-prospective-payment-system-ipps-and-long-term-care-hospital-prospective-0." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/fy-2026-hospital-inpatient-prospective-payment-system-ipps-and-long-term-care-hospital-prospective-0.

CMS.gov, “Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Patient Assessment Instrument (IRF-PAI) and IRF-PAI Manual,” August 4, 2025, cms.gov/medicare/quality/inpatient-rehabilitation-facility/irf-pai-and-irf-qrp-manual." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality/inpatient-rehabilitation-facility/irf-pai-and-irf-qrp-manual.

Alan Condon, “CMS drops 3 final payment rules for 2026: 15 things to know,” August 4, 2025, beckershospitalreview.com/finance/cms-drops-3-final-payment-rules-for-2026-15-things-to-know/," target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/cms-drops-3-final-payment-rules-for-2026-15-things-to-know/, Becker’s Hospital Review.

CMS.gov, “Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM),” cms.gov/priorities/innovation/innovation-models/team-model." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.cms.gov/priorities/innovation/innovation-models/team-model.

Emmarie Huetteman et. al, “Kennedy Cancels Vaccine Funding,” August 7, 2025, https://kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast/what-the-health-409-rfk-jr-mrna-vaccine-funding-august-7-2025, KFF Health News.

Nona Tepper, “BCBSA antitrust lawsuit reaches $2.8B tentative settlement,” October 14, 2024, modernhealthcare.com/insurance/bcbsa-antitrust-lawsuit-settlement-alabama/," target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.modernhealthcare.com/insurance/bcbsa-antitrust-lawsuit-settlement-alabama/, Modern Healthcare.

Nona Tepper, “Nearly 6,500 providers reject Blue Cross antitrust deal,” August 11, 2025, modernhealthcare.com/insurance/mh-bcbs-settlement-lawsuit-mayo-clinic-henry-ford/," target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.modernhealthcare.com/insurance/mh-bcbs-settlement-lawsuit-mayo-clinic-henry-ford/, Modern Healthcare.

Andrew Cass, “Nearly 6,500 providers opt out of $2.8B BCBS settlement,” August 11, 2025, beckerspayer.com/payer/nearly-6500-providers-opt-out-of-2-8b-bcbs-settlement/," target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.beckerspayer.com/payer/nearly-6500-providers-opt-out-of-2-8b-bcbs-settlement/, Becker’s Payer Issues.

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